TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwanese-American performer Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅) and her team of drag queens gave a historic performance at the Presidential Office on Wednesday (May 15).
During the event, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) congratulated Nymphia on being crowned the "Next Drag Superstar" on April 19 following the final episode of the U.S. television show “RuPaul’s Drag Race." The president noted that when Nymphia won the championship in the U.S., it was Gender Equality Education Day in Taiwan.
After a morning drag show performance from Nymphia and five other queens, Tsai said in her eight years as president, it was the first time the Presidential Office had been so lively, colorful, and with so many beautiful people.
Tsai thanked Nymphia and the other queens for their “wonderful performance.” She again congratulated Nymphia on winning the title, noting that being the first Taiwanese and East Asian to do so was “no easy feat.”
The president noted that in the show, Nymphia competed with queens worldwide. This included impersonating, doing stand-up comedy, lip-syncing, and dancing, but also incorporating Taiwanese elements into costumes she designed herself, stunning the judges and audiences worldwide.
However, Tsai said, “Behind the glamorous performance lies a form of resistance against societal discrimination and the prejudiced glare of others.” She thanked all the queens for showing their “fearless beauty, stepping up, and breaking boundaries.”
Tsai observed the day Nymphia won the title in the U.S. was Gender Equality Education Day commemorating “Rose Boy” Yeh Yung-chih (葉永鋕) in Taiwan on April 20. She added that May 17 is the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, and Transphobia.
Over the past few years, Tsai said the government has been committed to promoting gender equality and has achieved marriage equality, aiming to create “a Taiwan where everyone can express themselves and marry the person they love, regardless of gender identity or sexual orientation.”
The president said Taiwan is now “the world's Taiwan and Taiwan's Nymphia, is also the world's queen.”
She pointed out that Nymphia will perform at the Taiwan Pavilion at this year's Paris 2024 Cultural Olympiad, enabling more people to witness Taiwan's culture.
Tsai concluded by quoting RuPaul's phrase "Shantay you stay" and thanked Nymphia once again.
Nymphia then thanked Tsai for inviting her and the "House of Wind" to perform at the Presidential Office, which she believed would be the world's first presidential office to host a drag show. She also thanked the president for her many firsts in Taiwan over the years, such as marriage equality, and being Taiwan's first female president.
Nymphia expressed gratitude to her mother, who raised her in Taiwan, and to Tsai for her contribution to the country, “cultivating the land of Taiwan so that it can grow into what it is today.”
Nymphia mentioned that the inspiration for her outfit on Wednesday came from the unique Taiwanese yellow lotus, which requires a lot of earth to grow beautifully, and just like Taiwan, faces many difficulties but continues to flourish.
“Because they have the president as a role model, they can show off their beauty and grow into beautiful individuals,” said Nymphia. She also thanked Tsai for her contributions over the past eight years, becoming “Taiwan's mother.”
Nymphia and the House of Wind's appearance at the Presidential Office can be seen below:
